A staggering 8 out of 10 motorists have suffered from road rage in the last year

Published:06:00Monday 12 June 2017

A shocking eight out of 10 British motorists say they have fallen victim to road rage in the past year.

A poll of 2,000 UK motorists found that more than a half (61%) of those suffered either a verbal or physical attack in the last 12 months.

Three-quarters of those quizzed said they had a experienced seeing a threatening gesture from a fellow motorist.

The poll by Tyreshopper.co.uk found that the average driver was the victim of road rage three times in a year.

With just over 38.6 million licence holders registered on the UK’s roads and statistics may explain why 66% of traffic fatalities are believed to be due to aggressive driving.

The poll however found that motorists are reporting just 6% of road rage incidents, with one in five motorists being left too scared to get back behind the wheel.

Two years ago, Hull motorist Ronnie Pickering became an internet ‘sensation’ when his foul-mouthed outburst at a motorcyclist was captured on video and went viral - being viewed more than 100,00 times across the globe.

The new research showed that men were the worst offenders, with 4 in 5 abusers being men with an average age of around 37.

When it comes to the victims of road rage, both genders are equally as likely to receive abuse from male drivers.

However, women are almost twice as likely to suffer three or more incidents of road rage in a single year (35% compared to 25% of men).

So it will come as no surprise that female drivers are more hesitant to get back behind the wheel of a car (28%) than men (14%).

Half of those surveyed said they felt incidents were common at junctions, while 47% said they’d been abused most on main roads.

And if you want the safest retreat, it’s best to stick to country roads, where just 1 in 10 people have experienced an angry motorist behind the wheel.

Meanwhile bus drivers seem to be everyone’s chum on the carriageway, with just 7% of motorists reporting feeling threatened by one.

Jack Underwood, digital marketing executive at Tyreshopper.co.uk, said: “It’s no wonder road rage is rife in Britain, given the number of congested roads and ongoing roadworks around the nation’s motorways.

“But with busy lives to lead, people can get impatient behind the wheel, leading to incidents I’m sure they later regret. It’s key for drivers to stay calm and composed on the roads - after all, it’s better to take a little while longer to get from A to B than arrive frustrated albeit a few seconds quicker.”